Karen's Page

Week 12 – Blog Activities - Reflection Reflection On My Learning Journey I have learned from this term to write in a shortened, succinct manner for media. It is a completely different mindset, and will be really useful if I ever have to work/self-employ with this method of writing. You are not born knowing how to do this, so, you have to learn it. The text-books and moodle instructions and notes were clear and easy to follow; with so many extra resources and links to investigate, Ames (2017). The online, face-to-face zoom sessions were a real help to me, being so far away from any campus. Having that human, real-time connection, made me feel like I was learning at university. Also, asking questions, and receiving instructions in real-time is helpful and time-saving. Doing the assessments helped me learn this new way of writing, and going out into the public to ask questions and gather information, was a daunting and empowering experience. Giving and receiving peer rev

Week 11 Blog Activities     Inquiry:  Read the article ‘Woman stuck under train at Eagle Junction Train Station, Brisbane’, published on 10 September 2014:   http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/woman-stuck-under-train-at-eagle-junction-train-station-brisbane/news-story/3fdffc6978a2cb47b0461d1dbb1177ad a. What are the problems with the article? b. Does it meet the guidelines for reporting self-harm?:  http://www.mindframe-media.info/formedia/reporting-suicide c. Post your responses/reflections on your blog. There are a few problems with the article. It is very confusing to read. You have to re-read it a few times to work out the 5w’s and How. The fourth paragraph sentence is too long with two lots of information in it. It would be better as two short sentences, dealing with each point separately. The timing, what happened and who did what are spread-out through the article. It is not set out in chunks, with the relevant information to each concept kept t

  Week 10  Blog Activities 1. Practical – Photo Essay:   a. Take a series of 10 photos that tell a collective story. These might be of an event, or illustrate ‘a day in the life of’. b. Caption each photo so that the detail of the moment is captured, and that together, the photos represent a story to a reader/viewer.  c. Essentially, this is a photo-essay but it is entirely reliant on the captions to build and tell the story. d. Pay attention to technical detail in your captions.  e. You may use Flickr/Storify or any other platform to build your photo-essay, and you should then link this to your blog. f. Note that we are not assessing the photos; rather, we are assessing the captions.  Brandon Stanton, the photographer behind  Humans of New York,  in Kate’s Storify article: ‘Media Writing: Photo Captions’, has created compelling human-interest stories in this photo essay. To see the person’s story captured in the body language of the photo, added another dim

Amber, a two year old kelpie dog, came into our lives six months ago. She was supposed to work sheep, but didn’t want to – or so, the ad on the local notice board said. Amber is now happily living with us, and not chasing sheep. 'C'mon...Let's go for a walk.' Amber sending me thought messages. How can I resist those imploring golden eyes Harnessed and ready to go. Amber can't wait to get through the door. When we arrive at Nimmitabel Public Park, down the road, I take the harness off. That way Amber can run around to her heart's content. She keeps me in sight, and doesn't run off. Nimmitabel Showgrounds is next to the park. The extra space gives Amber plenty of room to run around. Next to the showgrounds is a flock of sheep. They were wary of us at first, particularly Amber, as they would have been rounded-up by kelpies. Live and Let Live. The sheep have become use to us now, and like to watch us, as we watch them. Amber

Week 9  -  Blog Activity 1.       Inquiry:  Review a newsletter a. Visit the website of the IUCN-SSC Crocodile Specialist Group (CSG) at iucncsg.org/.  b. Download and review the latest newsletter [CSG Newsletter 36(2) Apr-Jun 2017] (see   http://www.iucncsg.org/pages/Publications.html Search by Category > CSG Newsletter]  c. Reflect on your analysis, and respond to the following questions your blog:  i. Who do you think comprises the organisation’s audience?  ii. What kinds of stories are in the newsletter?  iii. How do these stories target the audience?  iv. If you were an Australian journalist, is there anything you may be interested in following up as a story, and why? v. What do you think is effective or otherwise about this newsletter? i.                    The Crocodile Specialist Group (CSG) Newsletter’s audience would be Academics, Scientists, Environmentalists, Conservationists, and Crocodile Farmers from around the world. As stated in Whi

Week 8 – Media Release 1 .        Practical:  Review the scenario on the next page. Write a media release that incorporates the three key messages as per the example in this week’s study guide. Post this media release on your blog. A template is available to guide you with structure, noting that for this exercise you do NOT need to include talking points at the end of the release. 2 nd  August Fight Breaks Out Between Cosplayers at Sydney Convention Centre Of the 36 people involved, 12 were injured; two are still in a critical condition, with seven still in the Royal North Shore Hospital. CEO of FakeComicCon, Casey Smith said: ‘Our immediate thoughts are with those who have been injured and their families. We are very concerned and saddened for all those people involved.’  FakeComicCon are working with authorities investigating the incident. Mr Smith said: ‘A Queensland Police Spokesperson said four people have been arrested on a range of we

Week 7 – Blog Activity   1. Inquiry : Review Chapter 11 of your Media Writing text (Whitaker, Ramsey & Smith). Summarise the key points of this chapter, and answer the question: What are the key differences between writing for broadcast and print-based media?  Key Points of Chapter 11 – Preparing Broadcast Copy. ·                   Radio and TV stories are designed to be spoken over the air. ·                     ·                   Simple, direct style to get attention in a limited time frame. ·                     ·                   Time pressed audiences want the essentials quickly. ·                     ·                   Write conversationally with clarity, so the words can be pronounced and heard easily. ·                     ·                   Use the inverted pyramid style to write the story, with the most important details first, leading into the story, which will be brief due to time constraints, so details might be cut. ·